THE BEARS OF CANADA
Oh! bear me from this savage land of bears,
For 'tis indeed unbearable to me:
I'd rather cope with vilest worldly cares,
Or writhe with cruel sickness of the sea.
Oh! bear me to my own bear land of hills,(1)
Where I'd be sure brave bear-legg'd lads to see—
bear cakes, bear rocks, and whiskey stills,
And bear-legg'd nymphs, to smile once more on me.
I'd bear the heat, I'd bear the freezing air
Of equatorial realm or Arctic sea,
I'd sit all bear at night, and watch the Northern bear,
And bless my soul that he was far from me.
I'd bear the poor-rates, tithes, and all the ills
John Bull must bear, (who takes them all, poor sinner!
As patients do, when forced to gulp down pills,
And water-gruel drink in lieu of dinner).
I'd bear the bareness of all barren lands
Before I'd bear the bearishness of this;
bear head, bear feet, bear legs, bear hands,
bear everything, but want of social bliss.
But should I die in this drear land of bears,
Oh! ship me off, my friends, discharge the sable wearers,
For if you don't, in spite of priests and prayers,
The bear will come, and eat up corpse and bearers.
J.W.D.M.
(1) The Orkney Isles.
CHAPTER XXIII — THE OUTBREAK
Can a corrupted stream pour through the land
Health-giving waters? Can the slave, who lures
His wretched followers with the hope of gain,
Feel in his bosom the immortal fire
That bound a Wallace to his country's cause,
And bade the Thracian shepherd cast away
Rome's galling yoke; while the astonish'd world—
Rapt into admiration at the deed—
Paus'd, ere she crush'd, with overwhelming force,
The man who fought to win a glorious grave?
The long-protracted harvest was at length brought to a close. Moodie had procured another ox from Dummer, by giving a note at six months date for the payment; and he and John E—— were in the middle of sowing their fall crop of wheat, when the latter received a letter from the old country, which conveyed to him intelligence of the death of his mother, and of a legacy of two hundred pounds. It was necessary for him to return to claim the property, and though we felt his loss severely, we could not, without great selfishness, urge him to stay. John had formed an attachment to a young lady in the country, who, like himself, possessed no property. Their engagement, which had existed several years, had been dropped, from its utter hopelessness, by mutual consent. Still the young people continued to love each other, and to look forward to better days, when their prospects might improve so far that E—— would be able to purchase a bush farm, and raise a house, however lowly, to shelter his Mary.
He, like our friend Malcolm, had taken a fancy to buy a part of our block of land, which he could cultivate in partnership with Moodie, without being obliged to hire, when the same barn, cattle, and implements would serve for both. Anxious to free himself from the thraldom of debts which pressed him sore, Moodie offered to part with two hundred acres at less than they cost us, and the bargain was to be considered as concluded directly the money was forthcoming.